Peter Creedon and his Laois management team have stepped away from their positions, after just one season in charge.

There had been speculation over the Cork native's position as Laois boss in recent days but Creedon has confirmed that he and his backroom members will not seek reappointment for 2018.

"Although we had the support of the County Board executive and the Laois players, we feel that staying on would have been divisive for the county, given the nature of a recent board meeting," Creedon said.

"This type of generalisation of there being a drink culture in the squad is deeply unfair and divisive given that we were aware of only one incident where three players were absent from an early training session on Easter Monday," he added.

"The management were not aware of any issues regarding a drinking culture and, in recent discussions with players, we found they were at a loss to explain or substantiate such rumours."

Creedon and his backroom team oversaw huge progression with the Tipperary footballers before Liam Kearns continued that project to great effect.

However, Creedon accepts that it was a disappointing season with Laois - they were relegated to Division 4 on the final day of the NFL and ultimately bowed out of the Championship against Clare.

"It was disappointing," the former Tipp manager said. "However, inches of a post were the difference to us being relegated or staying up and throughout the league we had a number of injuries to contend with.

"Trying to blood new players proved hard as well - but we accept that results were poor and that an inability to keep 15 players on the pitch ultimately led to relegation.

"The training increased in intensity for the championship, though, and our players responded with an emphatic victory over Longford. The improved levels of fitness and spirit in the team and our game-plan worked well on the day.

"Two weeks later, unfortunately, our second half performance against Kildare was very flat.

"We regrouped in the qualifiers and defeated Wicklow but then Clare proved to be too good for us in our last game of the season. Again, I felt our second half showing was again very flat once we were reduced to 14 men."

The outgoing management feel that Laois are in the midst of a rebuilding process and says that patience is now required.

"Constant reference to the 2003 All Ireland minor winning teams back-boning the current senior team is now irrelevant," Creedon continued.

"Unfortunately, as we tried to bring new players in, we found a lack of understanding from keyboard warriors, and some club delegates. A fairer analysis of results over the last four years will show that Laois have slipped and are now playing catch up with Kildare and Meath, in particular, in Leinster."The County Board has put in place fantastic training facilities and excellent mentors for the underage development squads. If all parties in Laois pull together those investments will pay dividends.

"With a dedicated and unified group of young players they can work their way back to the top," Creedon said.

"We leave with our heads held high. The officials of the county board supported us all year and everything that we asked for was given to the panel. We had an excellent medical team, great kit men, and a panel of genuine players who gave huge effort to the cause. Maybe the results did not reflect their effort but they gave 100 per cent to all training sessions and games."

Bye Peter thanks for reading, should have gone sooner or better still return your expenses. It was on your watch that this county sank to it's lowest level in nearly 50 years. Cork are looking for a new manager I am sure you will be top of their list.

why do them lads guidence for jays sake there all nearly 40 years old,i no lads like malachy but he is over a team that was going for ten in row and with the best club quality on show he is my club team manager but i also would like him tested in a leeser club to see can he bring them up a level,higgins did that with kileen conway in tipperary and clancy no matter wat you say brought ballyraon up so it will be interesting to see wat graigue do this weekend,,again interview them all

Ah lads give him a chance. You have to read it backwards. Makes more sense

A committed and fit Laois team will/would get promotion from Division 4 next year. In that regard it is a relatively attractive job for someone starting off. A mentor would be usefulTommy Lyons? Billy Morgan (if he doesn't get the Cork job)?

A committed and fit Laois team will/would get promotion from Division 4 next year. In that regard it is a relatively attractive job for someone starting off. A mentor would be usefulTommy Lyons? Billy Morgan (if he doesn't get the Cork job)?

Jesus, Billy Morgan isnt going to bother his hole travel to Laois at his age.

A committed and fit Laois team will/would get promotion from Division 4 next year. In that regard it is a relatively attractive job for someone starting off. A mentor would be usefulTommy Lyons? Billy Morgan (if he doesn't get the Cork job)?

Jesus, Billy Morgan isnt going to bother his hole travel to Laois at his age.

If the man is a realistic contender for the Cork job (and we are told he is) age isn't a problem.You are talking about less than two hours of a drive (on a motorway) for a job that has no huge responsibility or workload and that would be fairly well compensated If we can afford Creedon and his extensive backroom team, we can afford a Laois man plus an experienced advisor (who wouldn't be required every night).

I don't know whether he would or wouldn't be bothered his hole, but age obviously isn't a factor when his club mate is on national TV proposing him for the job.

like i said interview all parties see who has that extra factor,if its higgins,malachy,conway,billy,clancy you ring the clubs they have been with see what they brought to there area the club the players get a feel for the guy your employing to do this very important job,this man has to have charisma a tactical brain but most of all this is the important bit lads COMMAND the respect of the players be no fool be strong be passionate about wanting to win and let that feed to the laois people to the backers of laois gaa that put money into this county set up,i for one think its an attractive job i would like players input into the whole thing,i dont want a bluffer i want to see a fit laois team playing with passion but playing to a plan and not the stuff we have all seen last couple of years

Outgoing Laois football manager Peter Creedon has once again denied that there was a drink culture within his squad.Speaking on the RTE GAA Podcast today, the Cork native strongly rejected the allegations which were raised by delegates at a county board meeting two weeks ago, saying that the suggestions made the players and management look like "laughing stocks"."Not once throughout the whole year did any person come to me or Gary (Kavanagh) or Tom (McKettrick), who were based and living in Laois, with information regarding players constantly drinking or whatever," he told RTÉ's GAA Podcast."I wasn't following the players around all the time but to the best of our knowledge there wasn't a drink culture there and it was really bad form to have it splashed across the media because not only does it make the players and ourselves look like laughing stocks, it's not a positive reflection on Laois either."Some of the things that were being said about us in Laois were just off the wall really."The OMoore men suffered relegation to Division 4 of the National League and 10-point qualifier defeat to Clare in the championship during Creedons sole season in charge, with Creedon claiming to have had only one discipline issue with players during the year."There was one morning were three players failed to show but they were dealt with. One player didn't play for two championship matches after that as a consequence for his actions, he said."We were being accused of being too quiet and too nice with the players but at the same time we were slowly putting in place the actual structures needed going forward."

A committed and fit Laois team will/would get promotion from Division 4 next year. In that regard it is a relatively attractive job for someone starting off. A mentor would be usefulTommy Lyons? Billy Morgan (if he doesn't get the Cork job)?

Jesus, Billy Morgan isnt going to bother his hole travel to Laois at his age.

If the man is a realistic contender for the Cork job (and we are told he is) age isn't a problem.You are talking about less than two hours of a drive (on a motorway) for a job that has no huge responsibility or workload and that would be fairly well compensated If we can afford Creedon and his extensive backroom team, we can afford a Laois man plus an experienced advisor (who wouldn't be required every night).

I don't know whether he would or wouldn't be bothered his hole, but age obviously isn't a factor when his club mate is on national TV proposing him for the job.

Ah would you stop, I saw Billy Morgan a few months ago and the man looks like another clean shirt would do him. Where the f**k would we be going asking that man to drive to Laois 3 times a week? Morgan is a dyed in the wool Cork man as well, what f**king interest would he have bothering his hole in Laois? Theres no Teddy Mc in Billy Morgan. Lets try and be realistic here.